The sole reason for the existence of the Media Center remote control, which was developed jointly by Microsoft and Dutch electronics maker Philips, is to provide you with easy, across-the-room access to the Media Center interface (see Figure 4.7). Created as a sleek, highly visual " one-stop " destination for all your entertainment activities, Media Center's animated transitions and simple menu structure seem vaguely familiar, yet totally unlike any Windows desktop scheme that has come before it. Figure 4.7. When you press the green Start button on the remote control, it will launch the Media Center interface; however, an inset window (lower left) always displays the current media selection.
Switching from Media Center to the Windows XP DesktopYou can switch from the Media Center interface to the Microsoft Windows XP desktop at any time. Simply press the green Start button on the remote control, and then use the right-arrow key to select Minimize (see Figure 4.8), and press OK. Media Center will continue to run in the background. You can also use your remote control to maximize the Media Center screen, or to close the Media Center interface altogether. Figure 4.8. This close-up shows the onscreen buttons in the upper-right corner that allow you to maximize, minimize, or close the Media Center interface using your remote control.
Customizing Your "10-Foot" Look and FeelOne of the cool things you can do to really customize your Media Center experience is add menu items. This allows you to select an application using the remote control, and have the link to that application appear in the Media Center menu stack right below the existing Media Center applications. Adding Applications to the Start MenuHere's how to add items to the Media Center Start menu. Essentially, you're going to add a new application link to the Media Center Programs folder in the Windows Start menu.
If you want your custom menu to look really slick, you can add an associated icon. It works like this: When you select an item from the Start menu item, an image (or icon) appears at the upper right of the screen (see Figure 4.9). You can assign one of your own images to any new menu item you add by doing the following:
Figure 4.9. Following the steps listed earlier, a link called Paint was created. A graphics file called mspaint.png a pair of green handprintswas placed in the same directory. When the Paint item is selected, the green hands icon is displayed. When you select the Paint item, it automatically launches the MS Paint drawing program.
Turning Transition Animations On or OffIn the preceding text, we discussed how to set up your own graphics and animations, which occur when you change screens in Media Center. You can also turn the animations off if you like. To do so, follow these steps:
If you want to turn the animations back on, follow the same procedure to uncheck Transition Animations. Turning Notifications On or OffMedia Center is designed to keep you in-the-know when it comes to the status of your system, but you may reach a point where you become annoyed by its constant nudging about things such as whether you are low on disk space, when your TV signal goes out, or when there is an interruption in the availability of your Electronic Programming Guide data. If you feel yourself getting fed up with information overload, here's how to turn off Media center's friendly reminders:
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